Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
While some recent nationwide polls show President Joe Biden taking a slight lead over his predecessor Donald Trump, the results of a poll released Friday show that the latter still wields clout in the key battleground state of North Carolina.
What Happened: When North Carolina voters were asked to choose between Biden and Trump as their potential choice as president, 49% threw their support behind Trump as opposed to 43% who backed Biden. Eight percent of the respondents said they are undecided, according to independent polling firm Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy’s poll of 625 registered voters in North Carolina, reported The Hill.
The poll conducted between April 9-13 had a margin of error of +/- four percentage points.
Biden’s weaker showing has to do with some disgruntlement in his own party, with only 80% Democrats choosing him over Trump. On the other hand, Trump has received the backing of 93% of Republican voters. Additionally, Trump holds an eight-point lead over Biden among unaffiliated voters.
Trump is ahead in western North Carolina by a solid 30 points, but Biden leads Trump by 18 points in the Triangle area around Raleigh and Durham, and is up more narrowly in the Charlotte metro area.
Trump has more support among men, while more women currently back Biden. About 61% of white voters support Trump, but Biden is favored by 80% of Black voters in the state.
Will North Carolina Flip? The Hill report noted that no Democratic presidential candidate has won in North Carolina since Barack Obama in 2008. Trump won the state in both 2016 and 2020.
The Biden campaign is looking at North Carolina as a possible flip, the report said. Democratic Governor Roy Cooper stated this week that Biden has a chance to win the state, given the campaign’s substantial investment there. However, he acknowledged that it would require a “relentless effort” to reach the necessary voters by November.
The results are similar to those of a March poll conducted in the state by Marist. In a two-way matchup, Trump led Biden by a margin of 51% to 48% among registered voters in North Carolina. The former president also led among voters from the state who said they would definitely vote in the Nov. 5 election. A Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters in early April showed Trump garnered 48% support in North Carolina compared to Biden's 46%,
Given the tight results in various national and state polls, swing voters are believed to play a crucial role in determining the outcome for either candidate. Georgia and North Carolina, along with Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin, are all considered swing states in the current general election.
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